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Bad owners come and go, but don't tell that to Stephen A Smith. The latter is not a fan of Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia.
After the Suns were eliminated from the playoffs despite having a roster of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal, that was all Smith needed to see.
On First Take, he gave the Phoenix owner a brutal title to add next to his name.
"Mat Ishbia needs to understand that right now, you are on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner in the history of basketball."
—@stephenasmith on Mat Ishbia, owner of the Phoenix Suns pic.twitter.com/oaCbeReo5L
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 15, 2025
“Mat Ishbia needs to understand that right now, you are on the verge of being recognized as the worst owner in the history of basketball,” Smith said.
While there is recency bias to this, there have been plenty of worse owners, for reasons that extend beyond basketball. Although Ishbia's reign as the owner hasn't been ideal, it's not for a lack of effort.
He is putting pieces and allowing the front office to make moves that are beneficial to the team. However, some of them have backfired, and have done so in a brutal way.
Still, this will only be the third season he is in total control. Things are surely to change.
Stephen A Smith thinks Mat Ishbia is ruining the Suns
While Smith's claim is a bit outrageous, he makes a decent point. After trading for Durant and Beal, the expectation to win a championship was evident.
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After all, Ishbia was an NCAA national champion with Michigan State in 2000 under Tom Izzo.
He knows the standard and expectation to win. Still, Phoenix hasn't reached that pinnacle with that Big 3.
The furthest they got was the 2023 First Round, where the Suns were swept by the Minnesota Timberwolves. As a result, head coach Frank Vogel was fired and they swapped him for Mike Budenholzer.
Once the latter was fired, it proved that there are deeper fundamental issues with the team. While Ishbia has a hand in it, he's not the one making every decision.
He gives his input but doesn't take control away from the general managers and other executives.
At the end of the day, Smith's claim is a bit outrageous but as of right now, it makes sense.
A 36-46 record with those three players is unacceptable. They fired Mike Budenholzer, and will likely trade Durant. Also, they might try and find a way to get off of Beal's contract.
However, if Ishbia can turn around the franchise and help get it back to where it once was, then this claim might dissipate rather quickly.
